How long is acceptable to wait for a vet to arrive?

weob

weob

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Hi guys, bot sure if this should be in vets but thought it'd get more views here...

My boy has got lymphangitits and is off his food (my thoughts are probably a virus of some sort).
Anyway, phoned the vet at 8.30 this morning and still no sign of his arrival at 3.10.

Do you think this is acceptable?

Would appreciate your views on this.

Cheers,
W
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I think it depends - had my horse ripped a leg off, I'd want them there IMMEDIATELY - but if its not life threatening, I think I'd wait for a bit longer.

If they've not turned up in half an hour, ring them up and check they're still coming! xxxxx
 
Ring them and ask what's happened, they may have forgotten (probably unlikely but you never know!), or there may have been an emergency. Hope your horse feels better soon!
 
Give them a ring and see how they're doing. We wouldn't expect to see our vets 'til after lunch for something like that. They schedule the morning for emergency appointments and surgery, which they need 'all hands on deck' for, and then they handle routine stuff in the afternoon. So if they've had a busy morning and then have some previously arranged follow up calls to do then I wouldn't expect my vets 'til mid to late afternoon.

Our vets do normally give us an indication of what time they'll be there though, and ring if that alters. They then ring to let you know that they're on their way.
 
It's not an emergency, so guess they will get there when they can. Usually I'd expect to be told am or pm. But apart from that - am used to just waiting.


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I get my vet to ring, 30 minutes before he/she arrives. However they still tell me roughly what time he is likely to be with me at 8.30 in the morning. Emergency is different or course.
 
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It's not an emergency, so guess they will get there when they can. Usually I'd expect to be told am or pm. But apart from that - am used to just waiting.


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^^^ What she said.
I am told am or pm and if I really push them, they will give me a 2 hour window as to when they hope to be there.
I usually give them my mobile and ask them to ring when they are 30 mins away.
 
Depends what the callout is for. If it's colic or other emergency then I'd expect a pretty much instant response, but other less urgent conditions I'd be prepared to wait a bit. My vets know I work across the town from my yard, and ring me when they are on their way. On the other hand, you've been hanging around waiting for 6 hours, when you could have been getting on with other things.

I'd give them a ring and ask if they're any closer to having a time for you.
 
Mine give me a call about half an hour before coming, or give me a time range. If I lived on-site, I would expect a visit at any time for a non emergency call out.
 
OMG I'm so lucky! I get given an actual time and usually they are pretty punctual - within the hour but I usually get them to call me half an hour before they are likely to arrive...
 
Thanks for your replies everyone.

Gave them a ring and they only had one vet on call and had had a few emergencies so were behind on their calls.
Should be here any minute now apparently.

Thanks again,

W
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No it is not acceptable. I was looking after my friends mare who was ill, vet was due out at 9.20am, At 12 there was still no sign so rung the surgery who said 'oh yea he's at an emergency call out' . If they knew he was at an emergency call out and unlikely to make his appointments then they should at least ring and tell you so. Fortunately it was during my uni holidays so didn't have the worry of getting to work. The vet then arrived at 3pm. I don't blame the vet but think it should be common courtesy (sp?) for the practice to ring and inform you of the delay.
 
I think 'acceptable' varies according to individuals. Has your Vet been in contact? I don't mind when mine rolls up, but I do think that they should keep in touch if possible to let you know vaguely when to expect them. Hope all is under control now.

It all depends on what is going on in the Vet's day really, I know that lymphangitis would rate as non life threatening to my Vet and that he would get here when he could.

If I call before 7am, chances are he comes to me first, if I call after that he could be on his way to somewhere 200 miles away and I'd take instructions and just have to wait. Fortunately the horses are at home so I wouldn't be stuck on some damp, dark yard freezing my butt off.

If it is life threatening, he either does an about turn, drags himself out of bed (usually foaling) or, as he did a couple of days ago, sent a colleague from a cattle practise to shoot a horse because he simply couldn't get to me. Several times he has called to say he can't be with me because an emergency has come up, that's fine by me, really sick horses take priorities.
 
Lymphangitis so bad that the horse is off his food sounds like an emergency to me - can't it turn to septicaemia if it was left too long????? At the very least the horse is obviously very unhappy and quite probably in need of some pain relief.

I'd be mad if that was my horse!
 
Just Googled it - lymphangitis which does not improve in 12 hours can turn to septicaemia. Your vet's delay was inexcusable!
 
The chances of it turning to septicaemia are not very high.
Lymphangitis has a load of diferent causes.It is generally not an emergency situation so it would get classed lower on the list of prioritys for most vets...

Our vet will give a general planned timeframe,(generally arrives an hour or two after the time very occasionally before expected) he always mentions why he was late each time, emergencys of course take preference, and he also gets a chance to moan's about the people who call him out for one thing then drag him to see 10 other things they didnt mention on the fone "while he's there".

He will ring ahead to certain people, usually those who need to get time off work for visits,round half an hour before he heads towards them and will give warning if the plan changes.

But only if they ask specificaly for him to do this and give a reason why as he he is technologically retarded when it comes to fones... and prefers to use them as little as often...most of his customers know that at this stage though
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In OP's situation id just ask for the vet in future for a general timeframe.
Provided there are no emergencies most vets i know do their non emergency calls based on the area's so should have an idea of when they will be nearby...otherwise ask to be rang in advance if that is possible.
 
Pone was off his food though - surely a very bad sign?? He was in pain, if not in danger and needed treatment. I'd use a vet with more vets in the practice if you have the choice, then they can swap you to another who can get there quicker.
 
Not nessecarily, a slight fever will often put a horse off their food. Anorexia is a symptom of a load of things there not all bad thankfully.

As the OP didnt mention any cuts, abrasions or ulcers on the legs that could cause the lympangititis by a bacteria or fungal it means the Lymphangitis is much more likely to be a symptom of another problem,like a virus.

Although the animal may be in discomfort,a lot of the cases that an on call vet will see are in the same position,and the horse is highly unlikely to be in the same level of pain as an emergency case...

I wouldnt drop the vet simply because he/she didnt respond immediatly to this sort of call...they are likely just doing what were trained to do prioritising

But i would try to get a more specific arrival time or timeframe at least out of them in the next case... for peace of find if nothng else ...its a pain in the ass waiting for the vet to show and not knowing when they will arrive but there is usually a reason when they are late.

However if its a constant issue as they are understaffed then its a whole different story and id look and see what the other local practices are like.
 
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